Letters

You raise the religiosity bar for Muslims and their children with the front-page photograph of girls wearing full-face veils (Wanted: faith in the future, April 1). As well as normalising the concealment of female children's faces, by using these images as icons of being Muslim you are telling virtually every Muslim in the country that they are not Muslim enough. This powerful visual message reinforces an assumption that ultra-orthodox and Islamist voices should define what's best for the children of Britain's Muslim population.Peter McKennaLiverpool

Let's get physical

I was encouraged and concerned to read Jackie Kemp's article on the use of Wii to get disengaged pupils interested in PE (Crib sheet, April 1). Anything that gives children an enthusiasm for school and encourages them to eat healthy school meals rather than junk food should be welcomed. However, as a former PE teacher, I would remind LEAs that computer games - no matter how sophisticated - are no substitute for the benefits of physical activity. Wii should be used by schools as a springboard, not as a replacement, for PE.

I left teaching out of frustration at the lack of priority given to PE, and set up a children's activity company. Demand for our services exists because many schools, despite their best efforts, do not have a qualified PE teacher. I would urge the government to make more resources available to enable schools to provide a greater choice of PE activities.Dean Horridge

Fit for Sport, London W14

Early learning

Louise Tickle's article on children born prematurely raises some interesting points (Early risers, April 1). My daughter was born at 29 weeks. While we have received excellent support with health issues, her cognitive development has not been addressed. In the autumn term, she will start pre-school, just before her third birthday. I can't help worrying that she may not be quite ready. With a September birthday, she will be one of the oldest in her year, but may take longer than her peers to reach key milestones. In my experience - unless there is an obvious disability - early-years workers are largely dismissive about the effects of prematurity on learning. A professional assessment of my daughter's readiness for school would be most helpful. I feel sure most parents with a premature child would welcome this.Janet MillerGravesend, Kent

A different 1993

The stewardship of further education colleges pre-1993 certainly involved large doses of oppressive municipal micro-management (Remembering 1993 and all that, April 1). However, whereas incorporation handed colleges the "freedom" to carpet their mezzanine offices more thickly, it also resulted in one of the most complex revenue regimes ever devised, supported by an army of administrators and funding manuals.

Meanwhile, local authorities have been transformed in the past 15 years by a streamlined system of cabinet governance, arm's length stewardship of schools, and a continuous performance assessment culture that makes the deliberations of certain quangos look ponderous. David Collins and his fellow principals may find that, far from returning to the "dead hand of municipal bureaucracy", they will be in for a far livelier time than they ever imagined.Richard Hooper

Oswaldtwistle, Accrington

Tomorrow's techno-skills

Phil Beadle's piece bemoaning the use of technology in schools (Computers are no substitute for the real thing, April 1) misses an important point. Young people today have grown up with technology and respond to it in the classroom because it feels like an extension of what they do in their free time. To get the best out of pupils we need to harness their passions and interests and use these to engage them in learning. And we need to ensure they are equipped with the technology skills they will need as the workforce of tomorrow.Stephen CrowneBecta, Coventry

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